Tag Archive for This

Sometimes, even after 25 years, this sport still comes up with completely new surprises. Sometimes, historic events have a way of living up to the hype. UFC 189, the arrival party of the rising Conor McGregor and the greatest UFC card of all time, featured the classic bloody battle between McDonald vs. Lawler 2 in the co-main event. (McGregor has had incredible luck- UFC 196, 202, 205 and 229 were all wildly entertaining) UFC 100 featured Dan Henderson’s classic knockout of Michael Bisping, probably the most iconic moment of Henderson’s UFC career. The last WEC round of the last WEC fight of the last WEC event ever, featured a five-round classic between Benson Henderson and Anthony Pettis, capped off with Pettis’ infamous Showtime Kick off the cage for all the marbles.

The UFC’s 25th anniversary main event between the Korean Zombie, Chan Sung Jung, and El Pantera, Yair Rodriguez, was such a historic moment.

It was always a fascinating clash of styles, a perfect showcase for the cross-cultural violence that built the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Both men are known for excitement and originality; Chan Sung Jung owns what is still the only twister submission in UFC history, and his battles with Dustin Poirier and Leonard Garcia are legendary contributions to the annals of fighting history. Yair Rodriguez lands kicks no one else even attempts in the Octagon- I’m not even sure they all have names. This wasn’t supposed to be the main event, but Frankie Edgar had gotten injured. The gods of war had other plans, and Yair stepped up on short notice for a five-round fight at altitude.

It became clear early on that this fight would live up to the hype. The Korean Zombie was blitzing in, landing big rights and lefts, and Yair was countering with lightning-fast kicks that looked like they could take his head off. He was also landing crippling low kicks, but those went away after the first few minutes. After the fight, he revealed to Rogan that he had injured his foot on one of them in the first round, joining Jose Aldo on a list of fighters who have hurt themselves kicking the Korean Zombie.

In the second round, Chan Sung Jung got his jab going, and seemed to get getting the distance on Rodriguez. He used it to measure for his big right hand, and broke the rhythm with wild blitzes. He ended the second round with such a blitz, an exchange so quick you might have missed the back elbow Yair landed in the exchange. That will be important later.

In the third round, blood was flowing, and both men were tired. This fight was at altitude, in Denver, making it a feat of endurance to fight five rounds at all, much less five rounds at the pace these two were keeping. Yair’s body kicks looked like they were taking their toll, but the Korean Zombie was living up to his name and no-selling them as he always does. He was landing heavy punches of his own. He caught a headkick, then somehow ate two punches as Yair recovered his balance. The third round also ended with a wild exchange that saw Rodriguez try a rolling thunder, eat a hook for his troubles, then improvise a spinning backfist that missed as the Korean Zombie swung wildly.

In the fourth round, the Korean Zombie sent Yair staggering backwards with a huge right hand. He was taking over this fight in the championship rounds, despite Yair’s game approach. Yair’s creativity was bringing out the best in Chan Sung Jung; there kept being little moments of creativity that were utterly fascinating. Yair tried an Iminari roll but bailed quickly after Sung Jung eagerly engaged in the grappling. The scorecards showed that Jung was ahead, 39-36, on two of the three scorecards headed into the fifth round.

The fifth round saw more of the creative destruction, but also the jovial camaraderie that has been characteristic of many UFC fights over the past 25 years. Sometimes, in fights that seem lackluster, it can be frustrating to watch fighters congratulate each other; in fights like this, it only adds to the experience. Some fans like to see acrimony, but some of the best moments in fighting history come when two men go from beating the shit out of each other, to grinning from the sheer joy of expressing themselves through consensual violence, then going right back to beating the shit out of each other. Donald Cerrone, who broke the UFC win and finish record in the co-main event, is known for this. Two men or women often earn each other’s respect in the cage after throwing down. This was that kind of fight. Jung and Rodriguez embraced at the start of the round, then had a bizarre moment midway through where they each turned to the crowd and smiled. Even for those used to seeing the odd glove touch here and there, it was an odd break of the fourth wall, an armistice for a moment of mutual appreciation for each other and the enthusiastic crowd. When the battle resumed, Yair landed a clean head kick; Chan Sung Jung hit him with a hard right hand. They paused again for a moment of mutual congratulation with ten seconds to go, then went all out for the finish. Chan Sung Jung leaped in with one last signature blitz, but it was his undoing. Yair bent at the waist, moving backwards, and as he ducked under Jung’s wild swings, he threw his elbow up over his own back. It landed flush on Jung’s jaw, and he faceplanted forward. He had no sooner hit the ground that the horn sounded to end the fight. Rodriguez had landed a knockout at the very last second of the fight, 4:59.

It was, in many ways, the perfect end, though a gut-wrenching one for Chan Sung Jung. Sometimes the best stories are tragedies. Just like Rory Macdonald at UFC 189, Jung was winning the fight, right up until he wasn’t. The finish was totally original- in my years as a fan and of catching the most obscure finishes from combat sports in Midnight Mania, I have never seen anything quite like it. 25 years in, and we are still seeing new things in MMA. It might not even be the weirdest knockout this year (remember Niko Price’s hammerfists from the bottom?) but when you combine the timing and placement with the sheer creativity needed to even think of throwing that shot — so quick that some thought it was accidental — this one might just be the greatest knockout of all time.

Chan Sung Jung and Yair Rodriguez are what make this sport great- fighters who put their health at risk to try to hurt each other in the most creative, original, and exciting ways they can think of. Sometimes they pay for it with their consciousness. Sometimes they win it all at the last second. For all time, they are legends.

Bellator is hitting us over the head with a big show this weekend – Bellator 206 to be exact. It will air on that new DAZN platform, which is sort of the equivalent of the UFC’s Fight Pass, and there are some big, compelling fights on the card.

There’s also a very much not-eagerly anticipated rematch between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Wanderlei Silva, because, I don’t. Maybe promoter Scott Coker thought he could squeeze more money out of these long-faded warriors’ names.

Listen, the joke is on us, people. Neither Rampage nor Silva should be fighting anymore. And they certainly shouldn’t be fighting each other!

They’ve fought three times already. The first two meetings were in PRIDE FC, where Silva destroyed Jackson with knees. Then the UFC had the rubber match, and Jackson won via knockout.

That bout – back in 2008 – was pretty much the last time Rampage looked awesome. Since then, he’s gotten older and slower and infinitely more bitter.

And of course Silva has gotten old, too, and his last fight was a dismal one against Chael Sonnen last year.

There are plenty of other good fights on the Bellator 206 card. Gegard Mousasi versus Rory MacDonald is probably the best match-up Bellator could make in all of their divisions, and it’s always fun watching Aaron Pico.

But Coker is relying on whatever residual love fans may have for the ancient Rampage and Silva, and if you haven’t been living in an underground bunker for the last ten years, or maybe in jail, it’s hard not to see this bout for what it is.

It’s not enough for Paulo Costa to merely call out Yoel Romero, he must also take off his shirt and get super beefy in the process. I’m not sure if that’s going to be any more enticing for the “Soldier of God,” but at least it gives the haters (you know who you are) yet another reason to be suspicious.

Costa was expecting to fight Romero at the upcoming UFC 230 pay-per-view (PPV) event in New York, but the Cuban slugger withdrew from the bout as a result of lingering health issues and provided no definitive timetable for his return.

The more likely scenario is that Costa will wait for Romero to get his ducks in a row, then throw hands with the two-time middleweight title contender in early 2019. Until then, he’ll have plenty of time to clomp around the pool with his shirt off.

Arlovski was out-gunned and out-worked for three rounds. He lost the decision, and it’s gotten really painful to repeatedly see the aged former champ struggle when it’s so obvious his old body no longer has the attributes that made him such a stud.

Arlovski was out-gunned and out-worked for three rounds. He lost the decision, and it’s gotten really painful to repeatedly see the aged former champ struggle when it’s so obvious his old body no longer has the attributes that made him such a stud.

Arlovski was out-gunned and out-worked for three rounds. He lost the decision, and it’s gotten really painful to repeatedly see the aged former champ struggle when it’s so obvious his old body no longer has the attributes that made him such a stud.

Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Conor McGregor is gearing up for his MMA return, and it seems he is not pulling punches in the gym. I mean that literally, as he is shown dropping training partner(s) in this heavily edited and condensed training montage.

He is seen throwing an elaborate spinning roundhouse kick, practicing his bodyshots, pairing his kicks with his punches, throwing jumping switchkicks like the version of McGregor that fought Max Holloway, sticking his training partners with side-kicks to the gut, and doing a LOT of wrestling. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu ace Dillon Danis can be seen prominently attempting to take him down, among others, and McGregor appears to drop one training partner with a shot to the head and seems to buckle another with a body blow.

Day3 Yok Kisenosato (L) vs Yutakayama. Who’da thunk the musubinoichiban (last bout) on day 3 would give us the best action of the day?! It helps that K is hobbled but still fighting tooth and nail for his sumo life. pic.twitter.com/7vyJYp09sN

Random Land

Enjoy

Fun fact: Ever wondered why it’s called The Iliad? Because Ilium was another name for Troy, and the -ad suffix was used to mean “The Story of.” This means that, if you translated the title, The Iliad should actually

“Two weeks later, he calls me and he’s like, ‘I’m ready to schedule a fight,’” Coker said. “I said, ‘Rory, no, no. You need to put on the brakes here for a second. Let’s just rest.’ He said, ‘No, no, I’m ready. I’m just about ready to walk. I still have a limp, but I think I can start training in another week.’ I’m like, ‘This guy is nuts.’”

“He just wants to fight, he wants to stay busy,” Coker said of MacDonald. “He wants to get out there and compete. So, I think it’s my job to slow him down. He’s chomping at the bit. And he wanted this fight with Gegard and Gegard wanted to fight him. And they wanted to test themselves.”

While Rory didn’t get back into action as quickly as he would have liked, he did get the superfight he was angling for, at a stacked Bellator 206 on September 29 against middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi. After that, no matter the result, he plans on competing in the Bellator welterweight Grand Prix, with Coker targeting a February date against Jon Fitch. His welterweight belt will be on the line in each of his fights throughout the tourney, other competitors including Douglas Lima, Andrey Koreshkov, Paul Daley, Michael Page, Ed Ruth, and Neiman Gracie.

“I have never met a fighter like Rory,” Coker said.

Insomnia

Dana White credits Trump with helping the UFC when it wasn’t a popular sport

Every part of the journey matters. Triumphs and setbacks all combine to make the climb what it is supposed to be. My feet are dug in and I have clear motivation as to what I’m going after and why. I promise you’ve never seen anything like what’s coming #comebackseason

Some drama on Twitter happened yesterday when boxer Amanda Serrano, who is transitioning to MMA, claimed she rolled for six hours a day and UFC lightweight Jared Gordon said that was an impossible training schedule.

So now your putting down drug/recovering addicts? Classy. All I did was doubt how you say you roll 6 hours a day.

Former WSOF title challenger João Zeferino (23-9) taps Yuri Villefort in the third round off of a slick back take and RNC. “The Brazilian Samurai” boasts 20 finishes, 16 by submission. #PFL6pic.twitter.com/XoWj05pJix

Rick “The Horror” Story (21-9) lays Carlton Minus to rest, choking out the Alaska FC stalwart in the second round with an RNC. A 19-fight UFC vet, Story is 5-1 in his last six. #PFL6pic.twitter.com/msEkyQGRpL

Random Land

RIP Aretha Franklin

Around 1979, #ArethaFranklin & Smokey Robinson appeared on the Soul Train TV show. Host Don Cornelius – God rest his soul – switched things up by asking Aretha to sing one of her good friend Smokey’s songs. What a beautiful, classic moment. pic.twitter.com/KZTMbbRCvd

So I had a wedding in my Calendar for this Saturday and I was very stressed out because I didn’t know whose it was and I was afraid I was going to miss it. Then I realized that it was part of my 20 year plan and I set it like 5 years ago. It’s my wedding, I’m missing my wedding.